This is a very straight-forward practical programming workshop in Python designed to introduce you to programming and Python. No prior knowledge of programming concepts is assumed but some knowledge of College Algebra would be necessary. The course covers the fundamentals of programming including preparation of the computer, variables and constants, operators, data types, modularity, functions and classes. It delves into some of the deeper characteristics of object oriented programming such as encapsulation and polymorphism.

Aim

The aim is to inspire newcomers to programming to this wonderful world and to give encouragement in programming projects. I should warn that programming does take time, and the course is fairly demanding so you would be required to dedicate about 20 hours per week to this course. Python is also used for CGI and students must complete the first part entirely before embarking on this. Python CGI will be offered as a separated course once students are comfortable with the material covered in this introduction.

Objectives

By the end of this course, students would be able to:

Install Python on a personal computer

Run Python in both interactive command line mode and CGI capability

Run simple interactive Python prompts and code segments

Understand and be able to use constants and variables

Use the built-in Python operators

Be acquainted with the Python built-in data types

Understand and be able to use control structures

Create simple applications

Understand the need for correct programming techniques including testing

Dry run algorithms

Create functions

Create solutions to more advanced problems

Problem solving

Before you can think of doing any work with Python, you need to download and install the language. Go to ActiveState (www.activestate.com) and download ActivePython. Save the installation file in your “My Download Files”. We will later delete it from there as well. Run and install the package.

When done, you should be able to invoke the Python interpreter directly from the command screen: The three “greater than” signs is your Python Prompt. Now that you have Python, the next step is to download WingWare, which will be your integrated development Environment.

Go to: www.wingware.com. Go to the downloads and look for the Wing IDE 101, which is the free scaled down version of the IDE. Download and install this package.